Ash/Backstory
Ash’s birth name was Galadithui, meaning ashen brilliance; her mother Eilara named her for the unusual ash-grey sheen of her hair. Ash was the last child born to a tribe of snow elves that were steadily dying due to some strange invisible curse or plague. Each time another member of the tribe died, there was no discernable cause of death, and even the wisest among them had no idea what to do. So they prayed to their gods and the celestial spirits, but no help came. Shortly before Ash’s birth, her parents split from the tribe, hoping to save their child from whatever blight had been set upon their people. However, Ash was still young when her father passed away well before his time, and Eilara knew her time would be coming soon. She taught Ash a few of their tribe’s old traditions, and gave her their tribe’s traditional coming of age mark: a silvery-white tattoo. Ash’s mark was a star on her forehead, symbolizing her keen mind. Eilara died when Ash was only in her 20’s, leaving Ash alone and wondering if she too would fall to the same curse. She wandered across the mountains alone for years, searching for answers or her lost tribe. Instead, she found an ancient abandoned dwarven city part way down an immense mineshaft that dug into the mountains. She marveled at the intricate and advanced machinery she found there, all of which was cold and unmoving. As she continued to explore the city, she stumbled on a dwarf named Baern Balderk who had brought several of the ancient dwarven golems back to life. Baern had followed rumors of the long forgotten dwarven city, and it had taken him years of searching the nearby mountains to finally find it. He hoped to bring the city back to life and have it reinhabited by his kind. Ash saw similarities between herself and Baern; both were investigating their lost ancestors. So Ash offered to help him in his personal quest. Under Baern’s guidance, Ash studied libraries and machinery across the city, and soon began working with dwarven explosives. Baern wanted to find a fabled arcane core that had supposedly powered the city’s machines and golems. With this core, he believed they could bring the city back to life. Thus the two partners delved down into the mineshaft, hoping to discover the lost core buried underground. As they began to delve into the underdark, they began to encounter goblins and far worse things. Ash turned her focus and her keen mind to creating new weapons. After a few years, she had built her first gun. It was unstable and dangerous, but she refined her design, and eventually helped Baern outfit his golems with heavier versions. The partnership came to an end when the duo reached the bottom of the mineshaft. As they explored the caverns around the bottom, they were ambushed by umber hulks that with a single gaze, left Ash dazed and confused. In the ensuing chaos, Ash was unable to attack or find her friend. She panicked and ran, leaving Baern and his golems behind. As soon as she reached the city, she regretted her panicked decision. Knowing that she would be far too late if she returned to help, Ash waited, hoping that Baern had also managed to escape. She waited in the city for a while, but after a few days she left, unable to bear the guilt she felt after her cowardly retreat. Weighed down by her guilt, Ash left the city and began to wander again, eventually moving south. Baern gave Galadithui the nickname “Ash.” She has gone by the nickname ever since she left the dwarven city. By the start of the campaign, Ash is in her early 120’s.